America's Few
Marine Aces of the South Pacific
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Narrated by:
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Geoff Sugiyama
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By:
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Bill Yenne
About this listen
America's Few delves into the history of US Marine Corps aviation in World War II, following the feats of the Corps’ top-scoring aces in the skies over Guadalcanal.
Marine Corps aviation began in 1915, functioning as a self-contained expeditionary force. During the interwar period, the support of USMC amphibious operations became a key element of Marine aviation doctrine, and the small force gradually grew. But in December 1941 came the rude awakening. Within hours of Pearl Harbor, heroic Marine aviators were battling the Japanese over Wake Island.
In the South Pacific, the aviators of the US Marine Corps came out of the shadows to establish themselves as an air force second to none. In the summer of 1942, when Allied airpower was cobbled together into a single unified entity – nicknamed 'the Cactus Air Force’ – Marine Aviation dominated, and a Marine, Major General Roy Geiger, was its commander.
Of the twelve Allied fighter squadrons that were part of the Cactus Air Force, eight were USMC squadrons. It was over Guadalcanal that Joe Foss emerged as a symbol of Marine aviation. As commander of VMF-121, he organized a group of fighter pilots that downed 72 enemy aircraft; Foss himself reached a score of 26. Pappy Boyington, meanwhile, had become a Marine aviator in 1935. Best known as the commander of VMF-214, he came into his own in late 1943 and eventually matched Foss’s aerial victory score.
Through the parallel stories of these two top-scoring fighter aces, as well as many other Marine aces, such as Ken Walsh (21 victories), Don Aldrich (20), John L. Smith (19), Wilbur Thomas (18.5), and Marion Carl (18.5), many of whom received the Medal of Honor, acclaimed aviation historian Bill Yenne examines the development of US Marine Corps aviation in the South Pacific.©2022 Bill Yenne (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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A history Air War in the South Pacific & Iwo Gima
- By Amazon Customer on 06-30-20
By: Don Brown, and others
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Pacific Thunder
- The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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On 27 October 1942, four "Long Lance" torpedoes fired by the Japanese destroyers Makigumo and Akigumo exploded in the hull of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). Minutes later, the ship that had launched the Doolitte Raid six months earlier slipped beneath the waves of the Coral Sea 100 miles northeast of the island of Guadalcanal and just north of the Santa Cruz Islands, taking with her 140 of her sailors. With the loss of Hornet, the United States Navy now had one aircraft carrier left in the South Pacific.
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Good for what it is, but not what it claims to be
- By David Maher on 12-18-17
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When Tigers Ruled the Sky
- The Flying Tigers: American Outlaw Pilots over China in World War II
- By: Bill Yenne
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1940 Pearl Harbor had not yet happened, and America was not yet at war with Japan. But China had been trying to stave off Japanese aggression for three years - and was desperate for aircraft and trained combat pilots. General Chiang Kai-shek sent military aviation advisor Claire Chennault to Washington, where President Roosevelt was sympathetic but knew he could not intervene overtly. Instead he quietly helped Chennault put together a group of American volunteer pilots.
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A Well Written Historical Perspective
- By Donald Hill on 11-21-17
By: Bill Yenne
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Forgotten Fifteenth
- The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler's War Machine
- By: Barrett Tillman
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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November 1943 to May 1945. The US Army Air Forces waged an unprecedentedly dogged and violent campaign against Hitler's vital oil production and industrial plants on theThird Reich's southern flank. Flying from southern Italy, far from the limelight enjoyed by the Eighth Air Force in England, the Fifteenth Air Force engaged in high-risk missions spanning most of the European continent. The story of the Fifteenth Air Force deserves a prideful place in the annals of American gallantry.
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Well written ...; felt like I was a door gunner.
- By David C. Miller on 12-08-21
By: Barrett Tillman
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The Cactus Air Force
- Air War Over Guadalcanal
- By: Eric Hammel, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Adam Henderson
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Cactus Air Force, Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver worked closely with Eric to build on his collection of diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts to create a vivid narrative of the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.
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Excellent Book!
- By Eric Peterson on 09-16-22
By: Eric Hammel, and others
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Enterprise
- America’s Fightingest Ship and the Men Who Helped Win World War II
- By: Barrett Tillman
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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America’s most decorated warship of World War II, Enterprise was constantly engaged against the Japanese Empire, earning the title “the fightingest ship” in the navy. Her career was eventful, vital, and short. Commissioned in 1938, her bombers sank a submarine just ten days after the Pearl Harbor attack, claiming the first Japanese vessel lost in the war.
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Great Bio of a Truly Remarkable Ship
- By Aser Tolentino on 09-18-12
By: Barrett Tillman
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Hit the Target
- Eight Men Who Led the Eighth Air Force to Victory over the Luftwaffe
- By: Bill Yenne
- Narrated by: Corey M. Snow
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Less than a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Army formed its first air force designated to operate overseas, the Eighth. Within four months they had set up base in England. Three months later they were bombing German targets in occupied Europe. The Eighth was the first bomber command on either side to commit to strategic daylight bombing. It was a major change in tactics - and the men of the Eighth paid the price in both lives and blood.
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Lots of history, kinda boring.
- By Annie on 11-12-23
By: Bill Yenne
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Pacific Payback
- The Carrier Aviators Who Avenged Pearl Harbor at the Battle of Midway
- By: Stephen L. Moore
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Sunday, December 7, 1941, dawned clear and bright over the Pacific....
But for the Dauntless dive-bomber crews of the USS Enterprise returning to their home base on Oahu, it was a morning from hell. Flying directly into the Japanese ambush at Pearl Harbor, they lost a third of their squadron and witnessed the heart of America's Navy broken and smoldering on the oil-slicked waters below.
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Excellent companion to Dawn like Thunder
- By G. Bruce Greer on 07-21-14
By: Stephen L. Moore
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The Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe
- The U.S. Army Air Forces Against Germany in World War II
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In this dramatic story of World War II, Jay A. Stout describes how the US built an air force of 2.3 million men after starting with 45,000 and defeated the world's best air force. In order to defeat Germany in World War II, the Allies needed to destroy the Third Reich's industry and invade its territory, but before they could effectively do either, they had to defeat the Luftwaffe, whose state-of-the-art aircraft and experienced pilots protected German industry and would batter any attempted invasion.
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A must read for WWII buffs
- By david on 07-27-17
By: Jay A. Stout
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The Mighty Eighth
- The Air War in Europe as Told by the Men Who Fought It
- By: Gerald Astor
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 23 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Europe has fallen. Pearl Harbor is in flames. Enter: the Eighth. In 1941 the RAF fought a desperate battle of survival against the Luftwaffe over Britain. Then, from across the Atlantic, came a new generation of American pilots, gunners, and bombardiers, a new generation of flying machines called the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, the P-47 Thunderbolt, and the P-51 Mustang fighter.
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A Good Listen with 1 problem
- By Matthew Schuller on 08-23-19
By: Gerald Astor
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A Dawn Like Thunder
- The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight
- By: Robert J. Mrazek
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the great untold stories of World War II finally comes to light in this thrilling account of the members of Torpedo Squadron Eight and their heroic efforts in helping an outmatched U.S. fleet win critical victories at Midway and Guadalcanal. These 35 American men - many flying outmoded aircraft - changed the course of history, going on to become the war's most decorated naval air squadron, while suffering the heaviest losses in U.S. naval aviation history.
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Excellent story well told
- By Kismet on 01-30-09
By: Robert J. Mrazek
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Never Call Me a Hero
- A Legendary American Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers the Battle of Midway
- By: N. Jack "Dusty" Kleiss, Timothy Orr
- Narrated by: Mike Ortego, Cassandra Campbell, Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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An extraordinary firsthand account of the Battle of Midway by one of its key participants, timed to the 75th anniversary: American dive-bomber pilot "Dusty" Kleiss helped sink three Japanese warships (including two aircraft carriers), received the Navy Cross, and is credited with playing a decisive individual role in determining the outcome of a battle that is considered a turning point in World War II.
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Love the story, disagree with the title.
- By STC on 08-21-17
By: N. Jack "Dusty" Kleiss, and others
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Big Week
- The Biggest Air Battle of World War II
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces based in Britain and Italy launched their first round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. Their goal: to smash the main factories and production centers of the Luftwaffe while also drawing German planes into an aerial battle of attrition to neutralize the Luftwaffe as a fighting force prior to the cross-channel invasion, planned for a few months later. Officially called Operation ARGUMENT, this aerial offensive quickly became known as “Big Week,” and it was one of the turning-points of World War II.
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War in the Air: Sets stage with gripping narrative
- By Nashville Cat on 11-17-18
By: James Holland
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Into the Bright Sunshine
- Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights (Pivotal Moments in American History Series)
- By: Samuel G. Freedman
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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During one sweltering week in July 1948, the Democratic Party gathered in Philadelphia for its national convention. The most pressing and controversial issue facing the delegates was not whom to nominate for president—the incumbent, Harry Truman, was the presumptive candidate—but whether the Democrats would finally embrace the cause of civil rights and embed it in their official platform. On the convention's final day, Hubert Humphrey, the relatively obscure mayor of the midsized city of Minneapolis, ascended the podium.
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Civil Rights for All not just limited segments of society.
- By Patricia A Gustafson on 06-02-24
What listeners say about America's Few
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Carol Domme
- 02-10-22
a very enjoyable listen, overall
aside from narrator's incessant mispronunciations and the surprise of being informed that General Wavell's first name in the intro was Percival, actually Archibald, I believe the Percival part of the name was bastardized from Arthur Percival, the GOC in Malaya campaign, which Wavell had a hand in. Pretty minor gripes, really, but unexpected given the high standard of Mr. Yenne's earlier works. Overall, very enjoyable, light reading, but historically somewhat shallow. I'm just grateful Mr. Yenne avoided the more usual modern revisionism and unfair judgement more common these days. It really was a very different era, and I'm glad author reserved his personal feelings to report history only as it was recorded, not as many would like to change it to be. Then, as now, people are as flawed as humans tend to be, and then, were allowed to go on to great deeds without someone decrying their flaws, wanting false justice to be dealt postmortem.
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